It could be a while before the Browns can hire him. The Patriots, for whom McDaniels is offensive coordinator, hope to be in playoff games Jan. 11 and Jan. 19 and in the Super Bowl Feb. 2. They have a first-round bye. He can't be hired until their season ends.

McDaniels is being identified as the front-runner, but one should be careful about reading the minds of the Browns' embattled brass. Rob Chudzinski was a surprise hire last Jan. 10, and a surprise fire 354 days later.

McDaniels has legitimate credentials.

By 2004, when he was 28 years old, McDaniels was Tom Brady's position coach, a rising star who was in his fourth year with a team that won three Super Bowls.

He was 20 years younger than offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, whose three Super Bowl rings led to landing a job at Notre Dame in 2005.

Head coach Bill Belichick wanted to see how McDaniels could handle himself in 2005 before giving him the coordinator title in 2006. Entrenched as coordinator by 2007, McDaniels made history.

The Patriots scored an NFL record 589 points in going 16-0, with McDaniels calling plays for Tom Brady to manipulate.

By then, Belichick was confident McDaniels was head coach material, and McDaniels trusted Belichick to tell him when he was ready.

McDaniels stayed off the market in 2008, when he helped the Patriots go 11-5 with injury-replacement Matt Cassel at quarterback. He took the plunge in 2009.

McDaniels interviewed in Cleveland, but owner Randy Lerner got infatuated with Eric Mangini. McDaniels landed in Denver, where his home opener was against Mangini's Browns.

McDaniels' team won a 27-6 blowout. Several weeks later, a 34-23 win over Norv Turner's (and Rob Chudzinski's) San Diego Chargers had the Broncos at 6-0.

A four-game losing streak, capped by a 32-3 loss in a rematch with San Diego, killed the buzz. He rallied the Broncos to 8-4 after wins over the Giants and Chiefs but finished on an 0-4 run, missing the playoffs.

McDaniels got off to a 2-2 start the next season before the trouble hit. The Broncos were 3-9 when owner Pat Bowlen made a change.

McDaniels' stable quarterback situation in New England turned volatile in the Rockies.

He clashed with Jay Cutler in 2009 and traded him, leaving Kyle Orton as the starter. In 2010, he traded for Brady Quinn and then arranged to draft Tim Tebow at No. 25 overall.

Page 2 of 2 - The only pass Tebow ever threw for McDaniels was a 3-yard touchdown to Spencer Larsen.

McDaniels was out of a job. At the age of 34, he had been through quite a lot.

After losing in that 100th McKinley-Massillon game, he helped beat Massillon in the playoffs. He converted to wide receiver at John Carroll, then launched a career as a businessman.

He soon understood his passion was football. He became a graduate assistant for Nick Saban; an entry-level grunt working all hours for Belichick's Patriots; a defensive coach under Romeo Crennel; Tom Brady's position coach; a record-setting offensive coordinator; a 32-year-old head coach; a fired head coach.

His next move turned into an odd job, replacing Pat Shurmur as offensive coordinator of the Rams. While Shurmur went off to a turn as head coach of the Browns, McDaniels worked 2011 for Steve Spagnuolo.

The bad news was that it was less than a year before Spagnuolo got fired. The good news was that Belichick needed a coordinator.